A Mother's Love
by theshowerciara
Summary: Esme is the matriarch of the Cullen family, but is usually in the background. How does everything affect her? All Esme POV, in canon, CC JxA EmxR ExB CxEs JacxRen
1. Chapter 1 Prodigal Edward

**A.N. - I was told in some reviews that people loved this, so thanks to all those who reviewed. I was asked to add another Chapter, so this has become a series of one-shots about Esme's POV in various important incidents in each of her children's (including Bella) lives. Thanks to those who reviewed, but when I was re-structuring I kinda deletedalltheviews! I'm so so so sorry, and I'll be sur to credit you in the next chapter or two, because I still have the e-mails! **

**Luv, Cíara**

Prodigal

'Edward, what's wrong?' He was pacing up and down the hallway, agitated. I was worried about him. He seemed so young, so innocent. He was only 27, but had had to deal with so much more than most people his age. Except we aren't exactly people.

'I'm leaving, Esme. I can't take denying myself any longer. You should know that. It's not fair on me, and it sure as hell isn't fair on you. We're not supposed to live like this, we shouldn't have to feed off animals. We're meant to feed off humans, not deer and mountain lion. Can't you see that we're denying our true existence by not drinking human blood?'

I was shocked. How could he think this? We didn't want to be monsters, we didn't choose to be what we are. There was ways around our traditional lifestyle. I'd be the first to admit that it wasn't the nicest thing in the world to be drinking from elk and deer, but it was better than murdering innocent humans every few days. It allowed us to act like normal humans, albeit we stayed away from their company as much as possible.

'But Edward, why do you feel this way? Isn't there an alternative? I know that you don't particularly enjoy most animals, but isn't it better than humans? Do you want to be responsible for the deaths of so many?' I was begging, and I knew it. I couldn't let him go. Even though our cover story was that Edward was my cousin, he was more like my son than anything else. I couldn't let him run oout that door without a chance for him to stop and listen to me.

'No, Esme, there isn't. How can we live like this? It's not fair on us at all. I have to go,' Edwards voice was rough, and I saw him preparing to start running.

'No, Edward, please, wait until Carlisle comes home. Please, just wait an hour!' I shouted at him, unconsciously.

'Goodby Esme,' and he ran.

I slunk to the ground, giving out racking, tearless sobs which wouldn't stop.

XxXxXxXxXxXxxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

'Esme, what's wrong? Oh, please, tell me you're alright. What happened?' Carlisle's gentle voice lulled me out of my stupor. He was worried about me, and I didn't need Edwards gift to tell me that he was wondering where Edward was.

'He's gone, he left. He doesn't think that animals are right any more,' It was all that I could get out before dissolving again.

'What do you mean, Esme? Is Edward gone?'

'Yes,'

The next five years passed. There wasn't a day that I didn't think about my son, where he was and how he was doing. We moved around a lot, and had just settled down in Rochester, New York, when the somebody knocked on the door. I thought it was just one of the neighbours, so I quickly fixed my hair and apron and went to open it. Standing there, looking sheepishly at me, was Edward.

'Edward? Is it really you?' I couldn't believe it. There was no possible way that my son was back here. Carlisle and I had privately agreed that it was unlikely he would ever return to us, so we just didn't try to prepare the house for him to be here.

'Yes, it's me. If you'll have me back, that is,' He seemed unsure, almost like he wasn't quite ready to believe what he was hearing through my thoughts.

'Do you really think that I wouldn't want my brother living with me?'

Edward walked in, closing the door behind him, and swept me up in his arms, giving me a huge hug. There was another knock, and he put me down as I went to open it.

'Esme, do I smell who I think I sme- Edward! You're back!' Carlisle exclaimed. We all hugged each other and realised that all was well.


	2. Chapter 2 Rosalie's Change

**Sorry for not updating, RL's been CRAZY!!! So, this Chapter is Esme's feeling when Rosalie arrived into the family. This is set in 1933, in Rochester, NY. Edward was acting as Esme's brother, and Carlisle was Esme's husband (obviously!) So, here goes nothing (I mean that, absolutely nothing!)**

**Also, I'm going to pimp a blog I've been reading, it's really good. It's called 'The Lazy, Yet Discerning Ficster', and the amazing authors AngstGoddess003, Smellyia and loads of others will be giving us all a great rec every Sunday, and a good article about the fandom every Thursday. Read it, it's great!**

**Do you really think I own Twilight? I mean, seriously? I'm a poor Irish Junior Cert student, thanks very much!**

**Esme POV**

I was waiting for Carlisle to arrive home, so we could go hunting. My days were filled painting and decorating our home, and the nights with hunting and Carlisle. There was no way for me to be any happier. Edward was acting as my brother, but privately we all felt more like Carlisle and I were his parents. Physically, he was only seventeen, and we were both in our twenties.

The loss of my son still upset me, and I couldn't bear to see young children. Anyone below four or five, and I found it impossible to even look at them. It was just so difficult, they all reminded me of my little boy. But yet, I still managed to do it.

My self control was improving. I had only tasted human blood once, and it was more than ten years ago. I was changed in 1921, and that year I had slipped up. But now it was 1933, and my diet was mercifully human free. Edward had more problems than I did, he was still recovering from what we now called his adolescent phase.

"Esme, come here now!" Edward called. I rose from the sofa, and went into our unused kitchen. Edward was standing there, motionless. His face was fixed in a mask of horror, and he seemed terrified of what he could hear in someone's thoughts.

"Edward, what's wrong? Are you alright? Is something bothering you?" I asked him. His gift was more often than not a curse. He could tell when somebody was going to do an evil deed, and this meant that he felt that it was his fault if he didn't stop the person. But he couldn't save everybody. It was impossible to do that.

"Rosalie Hale is being defiled. Her fiance and his friends, on the street. She's bleeding, badly. Everywhere is just covered in blood, she can't do anything. He has her powerless. Nothing can help her. Oh God," Edward stopped there, obviously afraid of scaring me. His human mother had done a good job in raising him, he was always respectful and courteous to everyone who came near, especially women. But he constantly forgot that I was a vampire, a killer. He could never remember that I had murdered before, that I was made for killing. Much as I'd like to forget what I was, I couldn't.

"Edward. I am not afraid of whatever you are about to tell me. Just because my human experiences may have been terrible, I'm still fully capable of listening to whatever is happening to that poor girl.

"She's being beaten, left on the street. She doesn't know what is happening. Her brain is slowly shutting down. She just keeps thinking 'I want to die'. She says it in her mind over and over again, she can't stop saying it. She truly wants to leave this world behind her, she just wants the pain to stop. But it won't."

I was appalled. I had seen Rosalie Hale around the town when I was out shopping for our props, and she was beautiful, one of the most beautiful humans I had ever seen. She didn't deserve this. Those men probably treated dogs better than they were treating her at this moment in time.

"Carlisle's found her. He's lifting her up. He's _biting _her!" Edward sounded horrified. He couldn't understand why Carlisle would bite her, why he would take her away from her family, not let her be given a proper burial.

"Edward, how far away is he? I'll go and get the spare room ready,"

"He'll be here in around 3 minutes. You'll want to hurry, the venom is beginning to spread, the pain is getting worse for her,"

I ran upstairs and got the room ready. I put fresh blankets down on the bed, and made sure that it was clear of things that wouldn't break easily. When she awoke, she wouldn't realise her own strength, and I didn't want anything to be broken.

I heard Carlisle coming upstairs, and he called for me.

"Carlisle, come upstairs. The spare room is ready for her, lay her down on the bed!"

He ran upstairs, and laid her down on the bed. Her long blonde hair was streaked and matted with blood, and I felt my thirst increase. Her white dress was ripped, and also covered in blood. She was so beautiful, her oval face and violet coloured eyes. Her eyes were such an unusual colour for a human, almost purple. They were on the very far edges of blue, and they looked just like my little boy's.

A scream came out of her mouth, and her violet eyes opened wider. She stared right into mine, and continued screaming. I was thankful for our home being out in the forest, because there were no neighbours to ask us about the screams echoing around the forest.

Days passed, and on the third she seemed a little more lucid. I had washed her hair, and dried it carefully. Then, brushing it, I saw how much she had already changed. Her skin was so much cooler, and her screams had died down.

Edward and Carlisle walked into the room, arguing. Edward didn't agree with the decision to change her, he felt she was too noticeable in Rochester. We would have to move. But we would have had to anyway, he was forgetting that Carlisle was already claiming to be in his thirties, when he was physically only 23.

"What were you thinking Carlisle? Rosalie Hale?" Edward was irritated, angry at the fact he would have to move again, to somewhere secluded because of a newborn.

"I couldn't just let her die," Carlisle murmered, "It was too much - too horrible, too much waste." Carlisle voice was so sad. he was upset at what the girl had gone through.

"I know," Edward said. I could tell he cared for her now, after seing what had happened to her. But to an outsider, he would have sounded dismissive. He was like that, not letting people in until he absolutely had to.

"It was too much waste, I couldn't leave her," Carlisle kept repeating. My heart ached for my mate. I just wanted to look after him, and tell him it would be alfight.

"Of course you couldn't," I whispered, rubbing his back. His shoulders were tense, but he visibly relaxed under my touch.

But Edward couldn't let it go. "People die all the time. Don't you think she's just a little recognisable though? The Kings will have to put up a huge search - not that anyone suspects the fiend," he growled.

More time passed, and Rosalie's heartbeat was getting gradually slower. When it was almost out, Edward began to speak again.

"What are we going to do with her?"

"That's up to her, she may want to go her own way,"

They continued their conversation, and I kept my eyes on Rosalie. The feeble sound of her heartbeat faltered, and with one last ba-bump, it stopped. She opened her eyes to a new world.

"Who are you? What am I doing here?" She asked, shying away from Edward and Carlisle.

"Edward, Carlisle, get downstairs now. I'll talk to her. Stay away until I call for you,"

Neither of them were happy with me, but both left. I would talk to Rosalie, I knew what she had gone through.

"Rosalie? My name is Esme Cullen. Do you want me to explain everything to you?"

"Yes. I remember Royce, and his friends, and then pain. So much pain. It was like I was being burned, like my life was being burned away from me. What was it?"

"Rosalie, Royce and his friends attacked you and left you for dead. My husband Carlisle found you and brought you here. He worked so hard to save your life, but he couldn't. He couldn't let you die, you didn't deserve the hand fate gave you. So he bit you," I paused, waiting to see if she had any questions.

"What do you mean, he bit me? Are you vampires or something?" She scoffed, then seeing my expression, she stopped. "You're _vampires_? But they're only in story books, like Mr. Stoker's Dracula. Vampire's don't exist!"

"Rosalie. I'm going to show you yourself in a mirror. You'll look different, and your eyes are red, like mine were when I was changed, and Edward's, and Carlisle's. We don't age, and you don't either now. We don't eat or drink - unless you count human blood - and we can't sleep. I'll explain everything later, I promise."

Rosalie looked at me, "I'm ready,"

**So, there's Rosalie's story, from Esme's perspective. Next up will be Emmett's. I'm doing this in chronological order, with all the important points in her vampire life. There'll probably be around 10 chapter's in total, I think. Also, RL's a bit crappy lately, reviews rock!**


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